The group's profits were 15.9 million dinars (about 22 million U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, while the figure was 20 million dinars (27.6 million dollars) the same quarter of 2012, the report said, attributing the decline to a drop in gross operating income.

The group's revenue, meanwhile, dropped by 1.7 percent year-on- year in the first quarter, to 94.8 million dinars (130.8 million dollars).

The drop is due to the high competition in the market affecting both mass and business sectors -- but partially compensated by the increase in wholesale revenues.

The company's capital expenditure reached 6.3 million dinars ( about 8.7 million dollars) at the end of March, compared to 2.3 million dinars (about 3.2 million dollars) at the same time last year.

Meanwhile, the group's subscriber base increased year-on-year by 3.8 percent to reach 4.2 million at the end of March.